In my last piece I talked about how I wish for more
obscure races in MMOs and briefly went into theoretical gameplay mechanics that
could be done with them. I would like to talk on that a little more, but this
time more in the fantasy political realm and how racial discrimination IN A
FICTIONAL FANTASY SETTING can actually be beneficial.
As some of you may know, some of the earliest MMOs can
have their roots be traced back to Dungeons & Dragons, and type of pen and
paper game where imagination (and the Game Master) is your only limitation! A
human, an elf, a dwarf, and a really short guy go on an adventure, a tale as
old as Lord of the Rings (because seriously, where did you think you heard this
from if you didn’t play D&D?) And throughout their journey each of them
contributes in some way. Perhaps the elf is exceptional with the bow and can
take out foes at a distance, the dwarf sweeps through hordes of goblins, the
human swindles others with his looks, and the midget crawls into places where
Health & Safety would panic. Each of them have an ability, but what about…
social status?
